Love's Many Trials
by Hope E. Kay
Summary: Kyle was a normal girl with a normal life. What happens when she meets the man of her dreams and he has a tail? First story. Review please.
1. Chapter 1

"Thanks for letting me come along on the research trip, Dad." Kyle called over the noise from her perch on the bow of the boat. Her long brown hair was blowing all around her face. It was very annoying so she pulled it back into a simple ponytail.

"You needed to come anyway if-"

"I know, I know. If I want to 'inherit' the marine park from you." Kyle interrupted him. Her father smiled at her before rejoining the crewmembers on the main deck.

Right now, the boat was a mess of netting, loud machinery, and men yelling out numbers of a certain fish that they had caught. Nothing worth sketching now, Kyle thought to herself. Instead, she focused her bright brown eyes on the blue-green ocean below. She pictured a small group of dolphins swimming along side the bow and began to draw the scene in her head. She leaned back into a more comfortable position and continued to draw. Suddenly, a big paw appeared in the middle of her picture.

"Rex!" A large black dog licked her face. "Stop it."

She tried to push him away but he wouldn't quit. No matter how many times he came onto this boat, he was still nervous about it. Soon, the dog had knocked her sketch book off her lap.

Kyle pushed him away once more then reached down to grab her book. As she sat back up, a loud thud echoed from the large tub on the fish deck. All of the fish that needed to be counted were dropped into that tub. Her eyes widened as she watched the last of the fish fall into the tub. She was certain that there was an arm in that pile, only it had a huge fin on it. She shook her head and looked again. That didn't help. Now she could make out the limp fingers draped over the side of the tub.

"Omigod." In a split second decision, she leaned over towards the dog next to her. "I'm so sorry." And with that, she pushed him over the side of the boat. The poor dog yelped as he splashed into the water.

"DAD!" Kyle yelled.

The machine's stopped and the crew came running.

"He slipped and I couldn't catch him," Kyle told them as she slipped out of their way. They were all too busy worrying about Rex than to watch what she was doing.

She knew she didn't have much time, so began pushing fish away from the arm. Soon she had uncovered a head and torso of a very handsome teenage boy. He was unconscious from the special chemicals they put on the nets to knock out the fish. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him out of the tub. Her jaw dropped at the large fish tail that was attached to the boy's torso.

"Oh, my…." was all Kyle could manage to say. The men shouting by the bow brought her back to reality. She dragged the merman over to one of the small lifeboats and lifted him in. She covered the boat with its rain jacket before running back to the group of people helping to rescue Rex. She was just in time to see the bedraggled dog pulled back aboard. He was shaking more out of fear than from the cold water.

"Oh, Rex, I'm so sorry!"

* * *

"Please, Jet! Please!"

"No!"

"Come on," Kyle begged.

"No! I can't even believe you dragged me down here in the dead of night after scaring the crap out of me in my room--"

"Jet, please! Keep your voice down," Kyle cut in.

"-- and you haven't even told me why yet," he carried on. The pair of friends were down on the dock that stretched into the cove near the little town.

"I will just -- please promise."

"Promise what?"

"That you will shut your mouth and never talk about anything that happens tonight."

Jet sighed angrily. "Fine," he said. "I'm already out here anyway. What are we doing?"

Kyle gave him a quick hug. "Thank you. Bring your boat." She nodded towards the little motorboat they were standing next to. She waited for him to start the engine and pull away from the dock. She led him through the maze that made up the harbor. Eventually, they came up to one of her father's research boats. He cut the engine as a life boat was lowered into the water.

"What did you need my boat for?" Jet asked as she jumped down into the lifeboat.

"It's faster than this one."

"That still doesn't tell me what we're doing," he stated, leaning over the wheel of the boat with drooping eyelids.

"We need to take someone somewhere."

"Who?"

Kyle pulled back a thick blanket to reveal the merman. "Him."

Jet's eyes widened, fully awake now. "Are you kidding?"

"Are you blind?"

"This is crazy!"

"Well, we can't just leave him here." Kyle argued.

"I can't believe it."

"I know." Jet looked up at her. "He's still out cold." she continued.

"That must be some stuff you put on those nets."

"Yeah. I know I'm never going to touch them now."

Jet smirked. "So…where're we going?"

"The island." She pointed to the small island not far from the cove. It could be seen clearly in the moonlight.

"Alright. I can manage that."

"Thanks, Jet." With another hug, she said "Help me move him."

Slowly and carefully, they lifted the merman into the motorboat and drove away from the harbor. It didn't take them long to reach the dock on the far side of the island. It was out of anyone's sight and only the main dock was monitored. Once again, Jet cut the engine and tied the boat to the dock.

Gently, the pair pulled the snoozing merman out of the boat and carried him to the nearby beach. Once they had set him down on the sand, Kyle headed back to the wooden pier.

"Where are you going?" Jet asked her.

"I thought I heard something fall." Halfway down the dock, she found a small pouch with a long string attached to it. She came back to where Jet was standing.

"Look at this." She opened the pouch and found a small ring."

"Wonder where he found that."

Kyle shrugged at the same time a groggy moan came from the merman.

"Time to go," Jet whispered. He turned and headed back to the boat.

Kyle was still staring at the ring. It seemed so familiar to her. The sound of the engine coming alive made her look up. Quickly, she bent over the merman and slipped the pouch into his half-open hand. After a short moment, she looked up to his face and found his eyes watching her.

"Kyle! Come on."

"Coming!" She quickly stood and ran to the motorboat.

"What were you doing?" Jet asked her as she climbed into the boat.

"Nothing. Just go." But he was already pulling away from the island. When Kyle was sure Jet wasn't looking, she opened her hand and continued to stare at the little ring that seemed so familiar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Sorry it's been so long. But anyway, here's the next chapter. Chapter 3 should be up ... some time. I promise I won't leave the story in the middle. I don't like it when people do that. :P**

"Demitri, there you are!" A little angelfish swam up to the teenage merman sitting in the middle of a tiny grotto under the ocean. He was holding an empty pouch in his hand and was watching a starfish creep across a rock nearby.

"What are you doing?" the small fish asked. When he didn't respond, the fish swam up into his face to get his attention. "Hello?"

"Sorry, Adella," Demitri said, pushing his dark brown hair out of his face. Finally, he looked at the little angelfish. "It's just…"

"It's that girl, again, isn't it?" Adella interrupted. "Demitri, it has been a week. Just forget it."

"But, I can't get her out of my head. She just looked so familiar," he admitted. "Plus, she took the ring."

Adella was the only fish he had ever talked to about the ring and how he got it. Although, she had never really liked the fact that it had happened. Through the years, she had tried to make him forget about it and drop the ring into a bottomless pit but he never listened.

"Think of it this way. You saved some girl and found the ring. Now a girl saved you and she took the ring. Consider it even and forget about it."

"I can't," he told her with his head in his hands. He sat there for a moment until something clicked inside his head. "Adella that's it!"

"What's it?"

"That's why she so familiar! She's that girl!" Demitri quickly began to swim towards the surface.

"Hey!" Adella grabbed the end of his tail to stop him. Or at least get his attention. "Hold it! Where are you going?"

"I have to see her again," he said swimming around her.

"Demitri!" Adella went swimming after him. Without me there he's bound to do something stupid, she thought to herself.

* * *

"Demitri," Adella gasped as she finally caught up to him. "Do you have to swim so fast?"

"Why not?" he responded, oblivious to how tired she was. He looked around at the underwater features to make sure he was in the right place. He didn't notice until she collapsed on his shoulder. "You okay."

"Sure."

"Why don't you stay here?" he suggested.

"Okay." After the long swim, Adella didn't have much energy to argue with him. She drifted to a nearby coral to rest.

With a deep breath, he swam towards the surface. His head broke the water and his eyes peered around the rock he had chosen as his hiding place.

It was the right beach, not very big with rocky cliffs separating it from the rest of the island. There was a small patch of trees off to one side of the beach. A worn path led through the trees and away from the beach. It was the only way to get to the beach. Where the path met the beach, there was an old wooden bench and sitting on it was the girl who had saved him only a week ago.

She had her legs crossed Indian-style and a notebook rested in her lap. One hand held the book steady while the other held a pencil. Her long dirty blonde hair hung freely, blowing in small breeze. Every once in a while she would look up to stare in his general direction, but she never seemed to notice him.

Suddenly, he had an urge to talk to her, he didn't know why. But, just at that moment, a boy walked up the path and sat down next to her. He shrunk back behind the rock. He decided he would wait until the boy left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sooner than I thought, but that's okay! Here's chapter 3. Reviews are welcome! Reviews are asked for. I'm begging. Please!!**

"What are you drawing this time?" Jet asked as he sat down.

"Nothing," Kyle said guiltily.

"Gimme." He reached for the book.

"No." She pulled away from his hand. Jet gave her a look and motioned for the book. After a minute, Kyle gave in. "Fine."

"Kyle, it's been a week. Don't you think it's time you stopped?" he said as he flipped through the sketch book. The most recent pictures were all focused on the merman she had helped. "This is almost beyond obsession."

"You think I haven't tried to stop?" Kyle told him. She took the book back from him and turned back to the sketch she was working on. "I just can't. There's something about him."

"Oh, well then," Jet said sarcastically.

"What? I'm serious. I feel like I've seen him before."

Jet glanced at his watch. "Why don't we talk about it later, okay?

"But you brought it up."

"I know. It's just Dave only gave us a five-minute break from playing and I haven't gotten to the water jugs yet. Oh, and Ms. T is looking for you.

"Ugh."

"Just go. It'll get your mind off of things." He motioned towards her unfinished sketch.

"Fine."

"See you," he said as he stood and walked down the path.

"I'll just finish this first." Kyle mumbled.

* * *

The girl had picked up her pencil and began to draw in her book again. Demitri looked around the beach to make sure no one else was around before leaning out from behind the rock.

Just as before, the girl looked up from her book but didn't return to it. Instead, she continued to stare at him. After a moment, she set her book and pencil on the bench and stood up. She hesitated before walking to the water's edge. She sat in the sand, the water barely touching the tips of her toes. Her shoes were almost forgotten by the bench.

Demitri waited a moment before letting the tide carry him towards her. He stopped a few inches from her feet. Her legs were bent up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around them. Now that he was in front of her, he had no idea what to say. Not that he had the chance.

"What do you want? And whatever it is, you better say it fast cause I have to go soon." She said before he could open his mouth.

"Why won't you look at me?" This is crazy, Demitri thought. Why has my mind gone blank?

"I didn't think you'd want me to," she said looking at him with a smile.

"Oh."

"I'm Kyle, by the way," she said. "I know it's odd but…"

"I like it," he interrupted.

"Thanks. Who are you?"

"Demitri."

"Nice."

The odd pair shook hands in greeting. They sat there for a short while, not talking but trying to figure out what to say. Demitri looked over at Kyle and found her playing with the missing ring. It was just big enough to fit on her smallest finger.

"You do have it," he said out loud.

"Hmm?"

"The ring. You have it."

"Oh." She bit her lip before asking," How did you get it anyway?"

"It's kind of a long story."

Kyle looked down at her watch. "And I don't have time. I really have to go."

"Wait," Demitri said when she stood up to leave. "When can I see you again? To tell you."

"Oh. Umm… Next week, same time. No one will be here then."

"Okay." Demitri nodded.

"Okay." Kyle smiled at him before walking towards the path.

Demitri watched her pause by the bench to pick up her book and disappear down the path. Adella's going to have a frenzy when she finds out, he thought to himself as he slid back beneath the waves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's so short but I had to get something up before I disappear for a week and a half. Anyway, reviews are greatly appriciated. **

"Where have you been? You almost missed lunch," Jet asked Kyle, who had just sat down across from him. "Ms. T has been bugging me about you every chance she got."

"Sorry. What did you tell her?"

"That I couldn't find you. Now where were you?" he pressed.

"The beach," she said guiltily.

"You were supposed to leave."

"I know."

"Why did you stay?"

"Not here." Kyle looked around at everyone sitting in the huge dinning room. They were all immersed in their own conversations.

"No one's paying attention. Tell me."

"Alright." She looked around the room once more before saying, "He came back."

"What?!"

"Shh. I think he came to say thanks, but we never got around to that."

"So, you're saying he's coming back again?"

"Yeah."

"Kyle you can't keep this up."

"I know."

"He could get hurt, or worse." Jet reasoned.

"Worse?"

"He could get caught."

"Yeah, that would be worse." Kyle agreed.

"You can't see him again."

"Kyle, there you are!" A middle-aged woman walked up to where she was sitting.

"Oh, hey Ms. T. I heard you looking for me. Sorry I wasn't around. What do you need?" Kyle replied, glad for the subject change.

* * *

I was right, Demitri thought to himself. She did go crazy. He was sitting on a coral covered rock. Adella was yelling at him and he had lost track of how long she had been going on about it. When she paused to take a breath, he cut in.

"Are you done?"

"No!" she screamed. "You were only supposed to look. Not talk to the girl."

"Kyle," he corrected her. "Her name is Kyle."

"I don't care. You shouldn't even know that. You would get in so much trouble if anyone found out."

"You've been yelling for a while, Adella. I'm sure someone knows."

"It's not funny, Demitri. What if your father found out?"

"He's not going to find out," he said, suddenly serious. "Come on. Let's go before he starts to worry."

They began to swim away from the little alcove they had been sitting in when Demitri added, "Just so you know, I'm going to see her again."

"What?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**I AM BACK!! Sorry it took so long, but I had to force myself to sit and type this up. It's hard to find time to type when you have to get ready for school, ya know? Anyway, here's the new chapter. Once again: Reviews are BEGGED for. Thanks. The next chapter should be up a soon as I have it typed.**

"I'll see you later, okay?" Demitri waved good-bye to Adella.

"I still can't believe you are going to go through with this."

"Adella, stop whining. I wouldn't change my mind before and I won't now. Just relax. Nothing is going to happen." He swam towards the surface before she could answer.

Demitri peeked above the water line and saw Kyle sitting alone on the beach. Her long brown hair was blowing freely around her face. She had her bare feet resting in the surf. From where he was floating he could see that see was wearing the

He rode the tide in and came to a stop at her feet. Kyle looked up at him and smiled.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi."

Her smile got bigger. "So… you were going to tell me a long story."

"It's only long because it has plenty of holes," he admitted.

"I could probably fill those with what I remember."

"Could you do that first?"

She stared at him for a moment. "Okay, sure.

"I remember the first time I ever saw that ring." She lifted her hand to stare at it. "I was six. My parents and I were on vacation. Nothing big, a small cruise -- to nowhere as it turns out.

"A few days in, I had gotten into my mother's jewelry box. Everything was everywhere."

"Were you at least wearing some of it?" Demitri asked, smiling.

"Yes. I had a fistful of rings, a bunch of necklaces I couldn't have cared less about, and… and a bracelet. It was the one my mother wore the most. The charms always had a special way of sparkling in the light and each of them had a special meaning. But I can't remember what they are.

"Anyway, she caught me. Told me never to go in the box ever again. I think I started to cry as she took everything off and put in back in the box. She started to take the ring, but she changed her mind and gave it back. Instead, she said 'Why don't you keep this? It's too small for me now anyway.' I waited until she had finished putting everything away to slip it back on my finger. It was a little too big then."

"What happened next?" Demitri pressed.

"Well, the rest of the day went by normally. The next thing I remember clearly is my father waking me up in the middle of the night. He told me to get dressed quickly and follow him. So I did, and I grabbed the ring from my nightstand before I left the room. My father led me to the lifeboats and lifted me into the nearest one. He told me to stay put while he went to get mom."

"Where was she?" Demitri asked quietly.

"I don't know," Kyle answered just as quiet. "She wasn't in the room when we left. But I knew that he would find her, somehow. Just not in time."

"What do you mean?"

"The boat I was in was lowered into the water before they came back."

"Oh."

"I-I felt so numb when we rowed away from the ship. I was so scared. I didn't … didn't know what was going on, so I started yelling," she said fighting to control her breathing. A few tell-tale tears slipped out onto her cheeks. Demitri immediately reached over and wiped them away.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I didn't mean to make you cry," he said concerned. "You don't have to keep going."

"No, I need to finish," she told him, gently pushing away his hands. "No one's ever heard the whole thing."

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

With a deep breath, she resumed her story: "In my boat, there was this old spinster lady who got mad at me for yelling so she started yelling too. Which wasn't really helpful at all. She told me to grow up, that I didn't need my parents anymore. But that only made me cry harder. And that only made her frustrated. She stood up and tried to hit me, but other people in the boat stood to stop her. With all the commotion in the boat, it tipped over.

"We all fell into the water. I couldn't swim then, so I couldn't reach the surface. Somehow, I managed to open my eyes. I saw the other people from my boat bobbing on the surface, but it was very blurry. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was …well, I guess it was you." She smiled at him. "And now I can finally thank you. Cause the next thing I remember is waking up on this beach. I figure you did that."

"Well, you're welcome," he said.

"Now it's your turn," she told him while wiping away a few more tears that had escaped her eyes.


	6. Chapter 5b

**Sorry it took so long!!! The past few months have been the busiest of the year (I hope!) and I haven't had anytime to sit down at the computer for a while. I feel so bad but I promise that there won't be a big gap between part like that again. Anyway here's the second part of chapter 5. Please please please review!! **

Demitri looked away from Kyle. "My story's not going to be as good as yours," he confessed.

"So?" she answered. "You were the one who was supposed to be telling a story anyway."

"You're going to be very disappointed. It's not very exciting."

"And you're stalling."

"I'm good at that," he told her.

"Yes you are." After an awkward moment for Demitri, Kyle continued. "So, what did you do that day?"

"A dare," he sighed.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. A few of my friends and I were playing a game. Apparently, they wanted to get rid of me because they dared me to follow a ship that was passing by and talk to one of the humans on board.

"So I did. Sort of. I followed the boat for hours. I couldn't muster up enough courage to surface. I just kept following it. Eventually, it grew dark and the ship slowed to stop. I remember drifting beneath the boat watching smaller ones leave. That got me curious.

"From what I thought was a safe distance, I finally went above the water. What I saw was a very odd sight. There was dark clouds billowing out of the ship and all the people were panicking. I watched as other boats were lowered to the water. Then I heard you cry. It caught my attention and I watched the boat tip over. I dove back under the water and swam over to you. I wanted to know why you were crying, besides that old woman yelling at you, but you had closed your eyes. Before anyone else could see me I dragged you away from the scene and brought you here."

"This beach?" Kyle asked.

"Yes. You wouldn't open your eyes all night. I didn't know what to do; your breath was so shallow. Around dawn, it stopped. I leaned down to your chest to listen and…you spit water all over me. You rolled over and started coughing. I asked if you were okay. You were only concerned about the ring. You wanted to know where it was. I didn't want you to start crying again so I went back to look for it. By the time I found it and came back, you were gone."

"They had found me by then," Kyle said. Demitri finally realized Kyle was leaning on his shoulder.

"Was there anyone at the shipwreck?" she asked.

"No. I didn't really look."

"I figured. I just have one question. Why did you keep the ring?"

"It made sense at the time. I think I kept it was so if I every saw you again I could give it back to you. I don't know why, but I really liked you"

"That's a good reason," she smiled at him. "And I guess I liked you, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was weird. I couldn't get you out of my head for weeks. But I never saw you again ('til now) and eventually you just became a drawing from my imagination."

"A drawing?"

"Yep. It's in a box. Under my bed."

"Oh."

"I have another question. What were you doing here two weeks ago?"

"I can't really remember to tell you the truth. Every thing from that day is all fuzzy.""Oh, right. That stuff they put on the nets. It's supposed to make the fish feel drunk so they don't realize what's going on. I didn't realize it was _that_ strong."

"Well, it is."

"Sorry."

"I'm fine now," Demitri said. After a pause he continued, "So, what else do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Pick something."

The odd pair on the beach spent the rest of the afternoon finally getting to know one another. As the sun began to set, the two felt like they had reunited with an old best friend.


	7. Chapter 6

**Yes its short. The next couple are probably going to be but at least I'm updating, right? Any way please review, por favor.**

"Kyle, where are you?" Jet asked the air in front of him. He looked down at the dolphin swimming around the tank at his feet. From what he knew about it, jet could tell the dolphin was getting very anxious.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number and pressed the phone to his ear.

* * *

The sun was going down over the waves just as Kyle's phone went off.

"What was that?" Demitri asked.

"It just my phone," Kyle explained pulling it out of her pocket.

"A phone?"

"Yeah. It's so I can talk to people who far away."

"Oh." The thing continued to buzz in her hand. "Well, are you going to answer it?"

"I'm talking to you. That would be rude."

"I don't mind. And besides the noise is getting annoying."

With a smile, Kyle flipped open the phone and said, "Hello?"

A loud series of squeaks and clicks answered her. Demitri glanced at her as the noise reached his ears.

"That's not who I thought it was."

"Really?" Jet's voice came through the receiver this time.

"Yeah. Last I knew she couldn't use a phone. Now, what do you want?"

"Where are you?"

"Why?"

"She's getting antsy," Jet explained. A squeak in the background seemed to agree.

"Why?"

"You didn't come in today."

"Crap. She's probably going through withdrawal. I'll be right there."

"Good. See you."

"Bye." Kyle hung up her phone and returned it to her pocket. Turning to Demitri she said, "I sorry. I have to go."

"It's alright. I should go, too."

After an awkward moment of silence, Kyle voiced, "Okay, bye."

She quickly stood up and began to walk towards the path.

"Wait," Demitri said. "When can we talk again?"

"You want to talk again?"

"Yes. I like talking to you."

"Really? Well, okay. Next week, same time?" Demitri nodded. "Great. See you."

She smiled again before disappearing down the path.


End file.
